Rogers softball team tops St. Raphael on walk-off hit

Thursday

NEWPORT —Lilly Bestoso's only hit of the afternoon came at the best possible time.

Her RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning scored Alexandra Cranson and gave the Rogers High School softball team a 10-9 win over St. Raphael Academy on Thursday at Toppa Field.

“I kind of kept my eye on it after I hit it, but I just wanted to get Alexandra around from second,” Bestoso said. “I was just so happy that I could help my team and come through with the win.”

The Vikings, who had lost three straight all by one run, looked to be headed for a fourth straight defeat as they trailed 9-6 going into the bottom of the sixth. But with two outs Shannon Ward blasted a two-run homer to make it 9-8.

After the Saints failed to score in the top of the seventh, Rogers was down to its last out with nobody on base when Izzy Booth lined a solo homer to left to tie the score.

“We called a curve and our pitcher threw it but she got a little too much of the plate,” St. Raphael coach Ron Labree said. “(Booth) went down and got it. Congrats to her for getting it. You had to hit it well and she did.”

The Saints stranded two in the top of the eighth, left at least a runner on in every inning and finished with 14 left on base.

“You can't leave that many on against a good team,” Labree said. “It's always going to come back and bite you.”

The Vikings took the final bite out of the Saints in the last of the eighth. Cranson reached on a slap hit and Kenzie Palmer bunted her to second. Bestoso, who was 0-for-3, hit a hard grounder up the middle that Cranson had to jump over before speeding home with the winning run.

The Saints scored a run in the first before Rogers answered with three runs on a walk, an error, Ward's RBI double and a fielder's choice grounder from Jamie Ward that plated her sister. The Saints tallied three in the second and the Vikings played from behind until the seventh.

“The heart of this team showed,” Rogers coach Tom Milburn said. “They stayed focused and kept battling, even though we went down and went down again. You get a two-run homer by Shannon to make it 9-8 instead of going into the last inning down 9-6.

“You get Izzy up there with two outs and she hits a home run and ties the game. They just have a good focus about them and this time of year, that's perfect. It's where we need to be. I know we've lost some games, but they were learning experiences.”

Booth, who also doubled and singled and finished with two RBIs, felt some relief when Cranson crossed the plate with the winning run.

“We've all been kind of antsy just to win,” Booth said. “I think that kind of affected us. And now today, we just let loose, had fun and it showed.”

Shannon Ward was the starting pitcher but was pulled after 2 1/3 innings after allowing six runs and eight hits. Caeli Palmer took over and allowed three runs on seven hits in 3 2/3 innings before Ward returned to the circle to start the seventh. She pitched a scoreless final two innings and earned the win.

“You're just trying to play the hand you think is going to work out,” Milburn said about swapping pitchers. “I thought they hit Shannon pretty solidly the first time out. So we go to Caeli and she's a totally different type of pitcher. That kept them off balance.

“Later in the game it looked like they we starting to get to Caeli. We come back with Shannon and all of a sudden they couldn't adjust back to her. For Shannon and Caeli, that's a compliment to them because they're able to do that. They stay focused and they stay in the game. They don't pout about it. They did a tremendous job. They deserve all the credit.”

Shannon Ward finished with two hits and three RBIs, Cranson had two hits, Michaela Mathews and Anni Murphy each singled and Kenzie Palmer contributed a hit and an RBI for the Vikings (9-3).

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